Siphon priming apparatus



Nov. 28, 1961 J. D. CLYMER SIPHON PRIMING APPARATUS Original Filed Jan. 15, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR Josspnflcwmse J. D. CLYM SIPHON PRIMING APPARATUS Original Filed Jan. 15, 1953 INVENTOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 HTTORA'EY 3,010,470 Patented Nov. 28, 1961 3,010,470 SIPHON PRIMING APPARATUS Joseph D. Clymer, Fort Wayne, Ind., assignor to Tokheini Corporation, Fort Wayne, Ind., a corporation of Indiana Original application Jan. 15, 1953, Ser. No. 331,344, new Patent No. 2,812,111, dated Nov. 5, 1957. Divided and this application Oct. 10, 1955, Ser. No. 539,524

Claims. (Cl. 137144) This invention relates to a dispensing apparatus for liquid fuel such as gasoline, in which the fuel is pumped from a supply tank and delivered under pressure to one or more dispensing stands. This application is a division of application Serial Number 331,344, filed January 15, 1953, now Patent Number 2,812,111, issued November 5, 1957, by George W. Wright, Joseph D. Clymer and Ernest E. Jackson for Dispensing Apparatus for Liquid Fuel.

it is an object of the invention to eliminate air and gases from such a supply line and to prevent delivery of air and gas to the metering and dispensing mechanism of the dispensing stands.

It is a further object of the invention to utilize the strem of liquid flowing from an orifice used to eliminate air and gases from the supply line to prime a siphon which connects certain tanks of a plurality of tanks in one of wmch may be submerged a pump and motor.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a storage system of two or more tanks, certain of which are connected by a siphon or siphons to maintain the levels of liquid in the tanks even; wherein a pump draws liquid from one of the tanks and wherein a portion of the discharge of the pump is diverted through an ejector, the suction side of which is connected to the siphon or siphons to maintain it or them primed.

Other and more specific objects of the invention will appear from the following specification and the accompanying drawings and from the claims.

In accordance with the invention, the pump is desirably part of an electric motor-pump unit of small diameter insertable in a supply tank through a standard flange thereon. The pump or motor-pump unit is in a submerged position in the supply tank and is connected by a delivery pipe to a header which may be carried by the tank. The header is connected by suitable supply pipes to one or more dispensing stands and is provided with one or more check valves to maintain the supply pipes full of gasoline. Electric connections are provided by which pump operation may be controlled from each of the dispensing stands. The header check valves are urged to closed position both mechanically and by the pressure in the supply line, and open from a chamber, the top of which communicates with a restricted bleed passage leading back to the supply tank, so that upon operation of the pump, any air or gas below the check valves is discharged back to the tank before flow occurs to the dispensing line.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention.

In such drawings:

FIG. 1 is a somewhat schematic showing of a gasoline dispensing installation embodying the invention,

such installation having stands A normally connected to a supply system comprising two tanks connected by a siphon.

FIG. 2 is a vertical section of the pump supporting header of FIG. 1 and its mounting and showing the ejector.

FIG. 3 is a section taken on the line 33 of FIG 2.

in the gasoline dispensing installation shown in FIG. 1, a group of a plurality of dispensing stands A are connected by supply lines 2% to a main line 22 which is connected through a union 25 to a header 24 on a primary supply tank 26. The header 24 supports in submerged position in the tank a motor and pump unit 30. An auxiliary supply tank 32 is connected to the primary tank 26 by an open siphon line 34 extending from the bottom of the auxiliary tank 32 up through a flange opening 33, across to a flange opening 35 on the primary tank 26, and then down to the bottom of that primary tank 26. The high point of the siphon line is connected by a priming line 36 to an injector inlet 37 connected to the header 24.

The motor and pump unit 30 is carried by a supporting delivery pipe 40, and the motor of the motor-pump unit 30 is supplied with current through a conduit 42 which extends ec-axially through the pipe 40 and leads to a junction box 44. The junction box 44 is connected through a seal fitting 46 to a pump control box or starter 4S, supplied with current from a suitable supply line 50.

The dispensing line of each stand leads to and includes a dispensing hose terminating at a manually operated valved nozzle 100. A storage bracket 1102 is provided for the nozzle, and has associated with it a control lever 104 which lies in depressed position when the nozzle is stored and the stand is not in operation.

Each of the stands also includes a switch box 105 containing a double-pole control switch 108. Switch 108 is mechanically inter-connected to the control lever 104, for actuation to closed position by lifting of control lever 104, and for actuation to open position by depressing the control lever 104 either manually or by the act of hanging the nozzle 10!) on the bracket 102. The stand controls thus operate in the same way as conventional gasoline dispensing stands, in a manner to which service-station attendants are accustomed.

Each of the dispensing stands A includes a dispensing line normally containing a meter 1'12 and a register 114 and other usual related mechanism. In addition, the dispensing line of each stand is desirably connected to its supply line 20 through a hydraulic valve mechanism as disclosed in co-pending Serial No. 186,815, now Patent Number 2,732,103, issued January 24, 1956.

The control switches 108 oat stands A, are connected to close a two-wire circuit from a supply line to the pump control box 48 by wires 122.

The electric motor used may be a 250 volt, 60 cycle A.C. motor operating at about 3500 rpm. With such a motor, the pump is desirably a three stage impeller pump.

The pump 30 in the tank 26 of FIG. 1 is supported by its delivery pipe 40 from the header 24 whose construction is shown in FiG. 2. The tank 26 carries a standard tank fitting 200, into which is threaded a pipe 202 of a suitable length to dispose the header at the desired level, usually in a covered pit below ground level. The upper end of such pipe 202 carries a flange 204 on which the header 24 is mounted. The pump-supporting pipe 40 and conduit 42 are of suitable length to position the pump close to the bottom of the tank 26.

The header 24 has a bottom wall 206 containing a central opening into which the pump-supporting pipe 40 is threaded. A pressure chamber 208 is formed between the bottom wall 206 and an intermediate wall 210, and such intermediate wall 210 has an upward extension 212 to pass the conduit 42 to a seal fitting 214 at the top of the header. A delivery passage 216 is formed between the intermediate wall 210 and the top Wall 219 of the header, and leads to diametrically opposite outlet openings 220. As shown in the drawings, only one of 70 such outlet openings is connected to a supply pipe, and

eliminator in the dispensing stands.

check valves opening from the pressure chamber 208 to the delivery chamber 216. As shown, there are two such valves 222 and 224. Conveniently, the valves 222 and 22$ are provided as sub-assemblies comprising a flanged collar 225 forming a valve seat at its upper edge, and a valve poppet 228 carried by a stem 236 and spring pressed to closed position against the seat by a spring 232. The valve sub-assemblies are inserted through openings in the top wall 219, onto seats formed in the intermediate wall 216, and are held in place by sleeves 234 pressed downwardly by cover plates 235. The valves 222 and 224 will maintain full of liquid both the supply lines 22 and 2t) and the dispensing lines of the dispensing stands A, and in combination with the air-elimination described below avoid the necessity for any air or gas The exclusion of is required to prevent inaccuracies in the operation of the meter and register.

To prevent excessive pressures in the supply and dispensing lines, such as may result from temperature changes in those lines, a small pressure relief valve (not shown) is provided between the delivery chamber 216 {and the pressure chamber 208 of the header. Conveniently a valve unit of the type used in pneumatic tires, is mounted in a bore extending through the stern of check valve 224.

The pump and its delivery line below the check valves 222 and 224 contain no valves, and liquid may drain therefrom when the pump is stopped, especially if the liquid. level in the tank 26 is low, and air or gas may be present in the pressure chamber 208 when the pump starts. To prevent such air from passing to the supply line 22, and to prevent air-lock in the pump, a combination air bleed and ejector is provided.

The header is equipped with a siphon-priming ejector. The bottom wall 2% of the header 24 is formed to receive an ejector body 259 in an ejector chamber 252. The upper end of this chamber carries an ejector nozzle tube 254 aligned with and discharging through the body 250. The tube 254 communicates with the top of the pressure chamber 268 below the check valves, and serves as an air eliminating tube for chamber 208. The ejector chamber 252 is connected by a passage 25:5 to a check valve housing 258 attached to the side of the header 24. This contains an inwardly opening check valve 260, which conveniently comprises a sub-assembly identical with the check valve 222. The inlet chamber 262 below the check valve 260 communicates with the inlet 37 to which the siphon priming line 36 is connected.

The operation of the siphon system and header 2 is as follows: The header 24, the pressure chamber 268 and the delivery line thereto from the pump tend to drain back to the tank when the pump is at rest. Upon initial operation of thepump, it first expels any air from the presfsur'e chamber 228 through the ejector 250-254to the space between the header mounting pipe 252 and the pump delivery pipe 44), and through that space back to the top of the tank. During this air-expelling operation, the .fpump builds up insufficient pressure in the pressure chamher 208 to open the check valves of the header 24, so

that no air is delivered through those check valves to o the siphon line 34, and as gasoline is withdrawn by the pump from tank 26, siphon flow occurs from the auxiliary tank 32, and thetwo tanks are maintained at the same liquid level. When the siphon line is fully primed, the ejector inlet passage 256 and :ejector chamber 252 will be full of liquid and the induced flow from the chamber 252 through the body 25% will be flow of liquid, and such induced liquid flow will have a restricting effect on the bypass fiow from the pressure chamber 268 so that only a minimum and negligible by-pass flow will occur.

The general operation of the dispensing apparatus is as follows: When the nozzle of any dispensing stand is lifted from its bracket 102 and the control lever 194 is lifted, the hydraulic valve 11-8 of that stand will be actuated to dispensing position and the control switch 108 of that stand will be closed. A control circuit will be established througha control line 122 and pump control box 48. This will actuate the pump control mechanism to start the pump 30 for delivery of gasoline to the operated stand. Initial operation of the pump will promptly dispel any gas or air from the pressurechamber 208 in the header, and the whole line from the pump through the header, the supply pipes, and the dispensing line of the stand will be full of liquid under pressure ready for dispensing. Dispensing flow will be controlled by the manually operable nozzle 1%, and when that nozzle is opened, gasoline will be delivered under pressure from the tank to and through the nozzle. Upon completion of the dispensing operation, the nozzle will be hung in storage position on the bracket 102, which will depress the control lever 104,'and this will open the switch 158 and set the hydraulic valve to a flow-blocking position. The opening of the switch 108 will de-energize the control circuit 122, and this will actuate the pump control mechanism to stop the pump.

A plurality of stands of the same system may be operated simultaneously, for the pump 30 has ample capacity to supply a plurality of stands. When a second stand is operated during the operation of a first stand, the closing of the second control switch 108 will maintain the control .line 122 energized and will therefore maintain the pump in operation until the second dispensing operation has been completed.

The pump assembly neither includes nor requires any valves disposed within a tank. The check valves 222 and 224 in the header maintain the supply anddispensing lines full of gasoline, and are positionedat a point where they are conveniently accessible for service, and because the valves are embodied in the system as readily replaceable sub-assemblies, the servicing of those valves is simple and requires a minimum of time. The arrangement facilitates the use of a submerged motor-pump unit and permits that unit to be subjected to no more than the static pressure in the tank during periods when the pump is at rest, and this facilitates obtaining efiective sealing of the motor assembly. The siphon arrangement makes the liquid contained in two tanks available to a pump disposed in one of the tanks. The ejector mechanism described insures that the siphon is primed and effective so that the benefits of the two tanks may be realized.

I claim:

1. In a liquid dispensing system, the combination of a pair of storage tanks, a siphon line connecting said tanks, a pump submerged in one of said tanks having an upward- .ly extending discharge line provided with a header defining a chamber communicating with said discharge line and having an outlet, a pipe connecting said header for sup port by the tank, disposed to enclose said discharge line, a back pressure valve in said outlet, an ejector having means defining an inlet, an outlet and a suction port, a conduit connecting said inlet with said chamber at a point on the inlet side of said valve, a conduit connecting said siphon line with said suction port and means connecting said ejector outlet with the space between said pipe and said discharge line.

2. In a liquid dispensing system the combination of a pair of liquid storage tanks, a siphon line connecting said tanks and having an elevated portion, a pump submerged in a tank and having an upwardly directed discharge pipe, a header mounted on the discharge pipe and having means defining a gas separation-chamber, an outlet for said chamber, a back pressure valve in said outlet, an ejector including means defining an inlet, an outlet and a suction port, flow restricting means connecting said inlet with the upper portion of said chamber, means connecting said ejector outlet with one of said tanks and means connecting said suction port with the elevated portion of said suction line.

3. In a liquid dispensing system the combination of a pair of liquid storage tanks, 2. siphon line connecting said tanks and having an elevated portion, a pump submerged in a tank having an upwardly directed discharge pipe, a header mounted on the discharge pipe and having means defining a gas separation-chamber, an outlet for said chamber, a back pressure valve in said outlet, an ejector including means defining an inlet, an outlet and a suction port, flow restricting means connecting said inlet with said chamber, means connecting said ejector outlet with one of said tanks including a tube having its inlet disposed adjacent a high point in the chamber and means connecting said suction port with the elevated portion of said suction line.

4. In a liquid dispensing system the combination of a pair of liquid storage tanks, a siphon line connecting said tanks, a pump having a suction connected to a supply of liquid and having a discharge, means defining an air separation chamber having an inlet connected with the pump discharge and an outlet, a back pressure valve disposed in said outlet, an ejector having means defining an inlet, an outlet and a suction port, a restricted conduit connecting said inlet with said chamber, a conduit connecting said ejector outlet with one of said tanks and a conduit connecting said suction port with the upper portion of the siphon line.

5. In a liquid dispensing system the combination of a pair of liquid storage tanks, a siphon line connecting said tanks, a pump having a suction connected to a supply of liquid and having a discharge, means defining an air separation chamber having an inlet connected with the pump discharge and an outlet, a back pressure valve disposed in said outlet, an ejector having means defining an inlet and a suction port, a restricted conduit connecting said inlet with said chamber and a conduit connecting said suction port with the siphon line, said restricted conduit having an inlet disposed adjacent the highest level of said chamber.

6. In a liquid dispensing system the combination of a pair of liquid storage tanks, a siphon line connecting said tanks and having an elevated portion, a pump submerged in a tank having an upwardly directed discharge pipe, a header connected with the discharge pipe and having means defining a gas separation-chamber communicating with said discharge pipe, an outlet for said chamber, a back pressure valve in said outlet an ejector including means defining an inlet and a suction port, restrictive means connecting said inlet with the upper portion of said chamber and means connecting said suction port with the elevated portion of said suction line, said last named means including a check valve disposed to prevent the flow of fluid to said siphon line.

7. In a liquid dispensing system the combination of a pair of liquid storage tanks, a siphon line connecting said tanks, a pump having a suction connected to a supply of liquid and having a discharge, means defining an air separation chamber having an inlet connected with the pump discharge and an outlet, a back pressure valve disposed in said outlet, an ejector having means defining an inlet and a suction port, a restricted conduit connecting said inlet with the upper portion of said chamber and a conduit connecting said suction port with the siphon line and a check valve in said last named conduit for preventing the flow of fluid toward said siphon line.

8. In a liquid dispensing system the combination of a pair of liquid storage tanks, a siphon line connecting said tanks and having an elevated portion, a pump submerged in a tank and having an upwardly directed discharge pipe, a header mounted on the discharge pipe and having means defining a gas separation-chamber, said chamber, discharge pipe and pump being in continuously open communication with the tank so that liquid may drain therefrom when the pump is inoperative, an outlet for said chamber, a back pressure valve in said outlet, an ejector including means defining an inlet and a suction port, flow restricting means connecting said inlet with the upper portion of said chamber, said flow restricting means serving as an air discharge from said chamber when said pump is started and means connecting said suction port with the elevated portion of said suction line.

9. In a liquid dispensing system, a plurality of liquid storage tanks, a pump submerged in one of said tanks, a header mounted above said pump and having a chamber with an outlet, a back pressure valve in said outlet to prevent flow into said chamber, means urging said valve closed, an upwardly extending discharge line from said pump connected to the lower portion of said chamber, a siphon line connecting certain of said tanks, and an ejector providing a bypass, an inlet to said ejector communicating with the upper portion of said chamber above said discharge line and between said line and said valve, a suction port in said ejector connected to said siphon line intermediate said certain of said tanks, and an outlet from said ejector communicating with one of said tanks above the liquid level, said ejector inlet and outlet forming a passage for gas from said last named tank to said chamber, whereby liquid may pass by ravity from said chamber back through said discharge line and said pump.

10. In a liquid dispensing apparatus, of the type wherein two storage tanks are interconnected by a siphon for the flow of liquid from one to another, a pump adapted to have its inlet submerged in the liquid in one tank, an outlet pipe connected at one end to the outlet of the pump, a housing having an inlet chamber connected to the other end of said pipe and an outlet chamber, said chambers being interconnected by a passage, an outwardly opening valve normally closing said passage, a by-pass connected at one end to the inlet chamber and connected at its other end to the upper portion of one of said tanks, an ejector interposed in said by-pass and receiving therethrough part of the pumped liquid, said ejector having a suction passage connected to the siphon, said housing adapted to be supported from the tank containing the pump by a hollow standard which encompasses the outlet pipe in radially-spaced relation and forms part of the by-pass.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 205,779 Worthen July 9, 1878 2,425,957 Samelson Aug. 19, 1947 2,452,421 Ames Oct. 26, 1948 2,508,170 Kaufmann May 16, 1950 2,821,993 Pacey et a1. Feb. 4. 1958 

